Ruby's Adventure
by Akenokoru
Summary: Ruby goes off on an adventure, much to the disapproval of pretty much everyone who isn't going. Some friends come along, and they try to figure out what's REALLY going on.... Flame away. Keep Ruby's toes toasty.
1. Dropping Eaves

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Ruby walked down the path, the sun shining and her heart light. Her pack was on her back and she half-dreaded going home. I say she only half- dreaded it; just as her father was, so many years before, she was torn between a love for her home and hearth and family, and the intense yearning for adventure. Ruby dreamed of what lay beyond the corners of her elder's knowledge, of what came before the many tales she'd heard so many times. She took a deep breath, smiled, and, once again, turned toward home.  
  
She had not gone fifteen paces before she heard a familiar voice.  
  
"Ruby Gamgee, what in the name of the Shire are you doing?"  
  
"Good morning to you, too, Primrose." Ruby muttered to her older sister. Primrose ran up and stopped in front of her.  
  
"You know Mum said you oughtn't to wander off like that!" her sister chided. Ruby went around her and continued walking. Her elder sister had always patronized her, so she was used to this sort of thing. She walked up the Hill to Bag End and walked inside, closely followed by Primrose.  
  
"Hello-o! I'm ho-ome!" Ruby called. Her eldest brother, Frodo, immediately shushed her.  
  
"Shhhh!" he hissed. "Dad's shut up in the study with Gandalf, so you'd best be quiet, Ruby!" Ruby sighed and went back out again before laying aside her pack. The others could shush her all they liked, but she was going to find out what that odd Gandalf and her father were up to, once and for all.  
  
She rounded the side of the Hill, looking for the window to the study and walking silently like only a young, curious, and mischievous hobbit can. Ruby came in sight of the window, only to find one of her favorite siblings, Daisy, already there. Ruby quickly crouched down beside Daisy and listened intently.  
  
"What are you saying, Gandalf?" she could hear her father saying.  
  
"Only this, Samwise; that you are in great danger." Ruby's father was genuinely shocked by Gandalf's news.  
  
"But why, Gandalf?" he asked, "I thought that Sauron was destroyed, that Barad-dur was no more."  
  
"This has nothing to do with either of those names," Gandalf whispered, "I have seen an Orc spy from Moria which can only mean one thing. that Moria has again been opened, and that someone or something is living there, growing powerful. This could prove disastrous for all, and I ask you to send someone to Moria, to see what this is about." Samwise was still. Then-  
  
"But who could I send?" he asked finally. "I can't be spared, and I know of no hobbit who would undertake such a perilous journey."  
  
"I was getting to that-" Gandalf began, but was interrupted, to Daisy and Ruby's complete horror.  
  
The sound of Primrose's whining voice came from behind them. Gandalf and Samwise peered out the window, as Primrose came round the corner, practically shouting.  
  
"Ruby! Daisy!" she yelled, "Where are you!" That was when she saw Gandalf and Samwise nearly leaning out of the window. "Oops."  
  
To everyone's relief, not to mention surprise, Gandalf laughed and Samwise smiled.  
  
"Come in, you rascally little hobbit-girls!" he cried. They all, in turn, climbed through the window and sat in the study. Daisy and Ruby looked apprehensive and abashed, Primrose looked triumphant.  
  
"Now, girls," Samwise began, but Gandalf cut him off.  
  
"Samwise, this is for their ears too. As you girls probably heard, you can't go, so you must send someone else. You ought to send these three, for two are mischievous and anxious for adventure, and the other is practical and will probably be able to get them out of any scrapes they may encounter."  
  
Sam was shocked.  
  
"Now, G-gandalf," he stuttered, "You wouldn't seriously consider sending them, would you? What with Primrose not come of age yet, and Ruby only in her tweens." Here Ruby scowled.  
  
"It'll be alright, Sam," Gandalf said with a chuckle, "If they're anything like you they'll be quite alright." Now it was Sam's turn to scowl.  
  
"I won't allow it, and that's that." He said solidly. "I'm sorry," he said, turning to his daughters, "But you are just too young." Gandalf sighed.  
  
"Samwise, these daughters of yours are not 'too young', as I have told you," he said, "but you do have the final say, though I'm not too sure that young Ruby and Daisy won't have anything to say about your decision." He winked, and Ruby, though terribly crushed, smiled. Sam got up out of his chair pulled up his pipe and left the study. But as he left, he could be heard to say,  
  
"Hmm. this reminds me of something." 


	2. Stubborn Sisters

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Ruby, Daisy, and Primrose walked off to their bedrooms that night, talking about their chance and off the news they had heard from Gandalf. Ruby was all for going anyway, and Daisy told her sisters what she had heard in their absence.  
  
"Well, at first, it seemed like they only wanted to talk about the Shire, and our small doings. It was very boring, actually, for a while." Her eyes twinkled. "Then things got interesting."  
  
"Oh, go on," said Ruby, breathless. Primrose scowled.  
  
"Well, I hope you all get in loads of trouble for eavesdropping," she whispered, "but I'd rather not go to this Moria place. It sounds perfectly awful." Ruby and Daisy share a glance.  
  
"Well," Daisy continued, "Gandalf started talking about odd happenings in someplace called Bree, and how people -Big and Little- had seen Orcs there, whatever those are. That seemed to be what all the fuss was about, really." That was the extent of Daisy's knowledge, but Ruby still needed more. Then a plan began in her mind.  
  
"We ought to go." She said suddenly. Daisy and Primrose looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"Surely, you're joking." Said Primrose.  
  
""No, she's completely serious," Daisy assured her, "and I think she's got a point. We, Gandalf, and father are the only people who know about this, and I don't think father could find anyone more willing to go than us." She looked at Primrose. "Or, at least, Daisy and I."  
  
Primrose snorted.  
  
"You're both mad," she said, glaring at her to younger sisters. Ruby and Daisy appeared to have given in, and went quietly into their bedrooms. The moon sparkled on the windowpanes and the summer air moved through the house with a sense of foreboding.  
  
As soon as Ruby and Daisy heard Primrose's door shut, they whipped into action. Ruby packed some spare clothes, while Daisy pinched a few maps of the Shire and the surrounding areas. Speeding along into the kitchen, they took a few supplies they knew they couldn't forage for. To get the final element, they crept into Primrose's neat room and lit a candle. Primrose sat upright, startling her sisters.  
  
Ten minutes later, Primrose was still adamant.  
  
"I'm not going." Primrose shook her head and crossed her arms defiantly. "I don't want to, and you oughtn't to."  
  
"We've explained this over and over, Primrose!" Daisy hissed, "If we don't go, no one will. And if you don't go, you'll tell everyone within a day's march of here and we'll never get anywhere."  
  
"Please, Primrose!" Ruby pleaded, "You heard what Gandalf said! You are the oldest and, if there's no one to help, there's no telling what might become of us!" desperate, she laid her last card on the table. "You'd probably get all the credit! When we get back, people will probably all think you're such a hero, like Dad's friends Mr Meriadoc, and Mr Peregrin!"   
  
"Really?" Primrose asked, skeptical, but intrigued.  
  
"Really." Daisy and Ruby assured her.  
  
"Well, alright." Primrose agreed, "but if there's any trouble, anything at all, then it's all your fault."  
  
The next morning, Samwise awoke and found, strangely, a small folded note on the bedside table. Picking it up, he read, to his dismay.  
  
Dear Dad,  
  
Primrose, Daisy, and I (Ruby) have decided to go to Moria for you. I know you will probably be unhappy with our decision, but we hope that good will come of it. Please don't try to stop us; we know you went on an adventure, too, when you were not much older than us, if I'm not mistaken. We look forward to seeing you soon. Don't worry too much!  
  
Love from,  
  
Ruby  
  
P.S. What could possibly happen? Its just Moria!  
  
Samwise sighed miserably and wished (not for the first time, nor the last) that his daughters didn't have to be so much like him. 


	3. Bickering and 'Discussions'

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Ruby silently slipped along the starlit country roads of the Shire, followed by the more cautious Daisy and finally the reluctant Primrose. She began to hum to herself, as she often did, when she began a journey- though never before had she attempted so long or hazardous a journey as this.  
  
"Shhh!" hissed Primrose, ever patronizing, "Someone will hear you!"  
  
"But isn't that what you want?" Ruby teased, "to get caught so that you won't have to come with us?" Primrose adopted a sullen and sour look.  
  
"Stop bickering!" Daisy whispered, "otherwise, I'll go insane and probably scream, and the jig will be up and you," she pointed to Ruby, "can say good-bye to ever being let out of anyone's sight again, and you," she poked Primrose, "can say good-bye to being everyone's pet." Both hobbits, feeling thoroughly and somewhat unfairly rebuked, fell silent and glared at each other.  
  
Daisy now led the way, through field and forest. She might have only been twenty-nine, but as the oldest was a natural leader. They found a little dell where they could rest, but Ruby was adamant.  
  
"If we sleep, then in the morning, we'll be caught! We must be out of the Shire by day!"  
  
"But we can't just run to Bree without sleep!" argued Primrose, "and I, for one, am so" she yawned "tired."  
  
"I know somewhere where we can rest and not be noticed in the morning.' Said Daisy, as usual mediator and peacemaker. Her sisters looked up at her intently.  
  
"If we get to the ferry tonight, say we're on an important errand for father, perhaps, and leave the Shire by tomorrow afternoon, no one will hinder us and father could not possibly catch up to us." Primrose was startled. It seemed to her that she had not noticed how smart her older sister was.  
  
"I didn't know you were so clever," she said, "how come you never showed anyone before?"  
  
"Because she's not a show-off like you." Ruby retorted. Primrose stuck out her tongue.  
  
"CHILDREN!"  
  
"I'm not a child!" Ruby protested, "I'm twenty-four!"  
  
"And I'm twenty-seven!"  
  
"If you're not children, then prove it by not acting like it!"  
  
The three hobbits resumed their walking, past the well-tended, fragrant gardens and underneath the pale spring moon. Daisy could be heard muttering:  
  
"If those two keep this up, I'm going to need a vacation after this vacation! Hmph!"  
  
Later that night (or, technically, early the next morning) they arrived at the Brandywine Ferry; tired, dirty, hungry, and ready for a rest. They sat on a little white wooden waiting-bench, only intending to close their eyes for a moment, but soon all three -even Ruby- fell into a deep sleep. And that's where the adventure (and the trouble) really began. 


	4. Rocking the Boat

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 4  
  
A small, dark shadow tiptoed across a clearing on the other side of the bridge. Unnoticed, it crept into a boat and sailed across to where the three young hobbits were sleeping deeply. The figure climbed out of the boat, and snuck up behind the bench just where Primrose was dozing. A light tap on her shoulder caused the half-asleep Primrose to become fully awake, turning round sharply and suddenly and screaming at the top of her lungs.  
  
A small brown hand - three of them, actually - shot out and covered Primrose's wide-opened mouth, hoping to stifle her screams. Daisy and Ruby shook the sleep from their bodies, aching from having slept sitting upright, and faced the unknown figure. It - or I should say he - threw back his hood to reveal that he was no shadow, no monster, nothing frightening at all, but their own good friend Faramir Took. His father had long been a friend of their father's, and they had all been around each other since they were born. He was only three years older than Daisy, and eight years older than Ruby herself, but Ruby had long admired him. He was as adventurous as Daisy, if not more so, but none in the Shire could match Ruby when it came to the desire to go 'questing' as some called it.  
  
Faramir shook his head, making his light brown curls shake wildly, but his eyes twinkled and it was all he could do to keep from smiling.  
  
"You three," he began, "are going to get into some real trouble some day! I do declare! Sleeping, by the Ferry, all alone, out here where no one can get you out of the trouble you're sure to get into, sure as my name's Faramir Took? What were you thinking? What if one of those Orc spies had come round and throttled you?"  
  
"So you know about the Orcs too?" Ruby asked, before realising her mistake. "Oops." Daisy sighed, Primrose pursed her lips, and Faramir laughed.  
  
"You can say that again, Ruby Gamgee," he said, now smiling whole- heartedly. He may have pretended that his Gamgee friends annoyed him, but he really was fond of them, deep down. "You ought not to have let on you knew about that. I thought you weren't supposed to know." Faramir must be able to smell guilt or something like that, ruby thought exasperatedly. She knew Faramir. He would force her to tell him everything - leaving nothing out, mind - and then he'd decide to come with them. He always did.  
  
"Oh, alright, Faramir Took! Have it your way! Gandalf told Father that there were Orc spies appearing around the place, and that it could only mean that Moria was open again, and he wanted to send us, but Father wouldn't let him. And so we came without permission, and you are going to want to come along with us, aren't you?"  
  
Faramir wondered at the ease with which Ruby could read his mind. Daisy sighed and rolled her eyes again.  
  
"So much for our alibi." She muttered, to no one in particular. But Faramir heard her and laughed all the same.  
  
"Come with you?" he said, becoming serious, "Of course I'm coming with you! Do you even need to ask? You think I'm really going to let you go off on an adventure, without me?" Even Primrose smiled.  
  
"Well, lets be off," Daisy reminded them, indicating the boat Faramir had come across in. Faramir (to Daisy's annoyance) led the way to his little boat. Even the other Tooks had thought he was a little odd for building and sailing his little boat, christened "Undomiel". People said that they had even seen him talking to "Undomiel", but neither his parents, nor the Gamgees, nor the Brandybucks minded in the least. Mr Peregrin Took himself (Right Thain of the Shire, and Faramir's father at that) said that it probably wasn't true anyway, though he knew some people - and here he eyed the Sandyman family especially - that were much more boring and annoying to talk to than a boat.  
  
Daisy, thinking to salvage her position as leader of the expedition, was the first into the boat, ever helping to load things into the bottom, and ever good-naturedly bossing Faramir about where to stow their packs.  
  
When everything was finally organized, everyone grabbed a paddle - yes, even Primrose, who clung tight to the side of the boat with her free hand. Ruby, who was rather adept with a paddle, glanced over to her older sister.   
  
"Y'know, Primrose," she began, "if you keep holding on to the side like that, and putting all your weight there, then I'm afraid you'll tip the boat and drown the lot of us." Primrose let go of the side as if it was some sort of poisonous spider, and shifted her weight to the other side rather quickly, causing the boat to rock wildly. She screamed (again) and Daisy shushed her while Faramir and Ruby laughed loudly. Even Daisy couldn't stifle a giggle. Primrose, however, was indignant.  
  
"Don't laugh," she sniffed, "and don't shake the boat either!" Faramir giggled Tookishly.  
  
"What?" he asked innocently, "Shake the boat?" he added, as if he had no idea what she was talking about. "You mean like this?" he grabbed the sides making "Undomiel" rock back and forth in a huge arc with surprising speed. Primrose screamed, and the other hobbits laughed.  
  
They were so caught up in teasing Primrose that none of them noticed something swimming in the dark, cold water below them. 


	5. Something in the Water

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Something sleek and dark and small had wormed its way across the bank, its presence unbeknown to the young, merry hobbits. It creeped like a slimy insect through the mud at the bank, and its eyes glittered coldly, like a fish. Its scaly brown skin might have betrayed it for what it truly was, if it were not for the darkness of the night - although morning drew ever nearer - and the mud. Yes, it was an Orc. It was the very creature that Ruby, Primrose, Daisy and now Faramir were looking for. But they had not found this detestable Orc. It had found them.  
  
  
  
It heard the small, silken, silver-sounding waves resonating against the shore, brought on by the wild splashing motions of "Undomiel". It sniffed the air, seeming to smell the four young hobbits. The Orc clenched its fists; its much-too-long fingers ending in chewed-down dirty fingernails. It dived into the river and swam silently towards the boat. Faramir and Ruby were still enjoying their fun.  
  
"Stoppit! Stoppit!" Primrose screamed, now hysterical. She looked down into the dark, cold water and whimpered. Daisy looked thoughtful.  
  
  
  
"You really oughtn't, you two," she whispered. "You'll wake the Bucklanders, not to mention tip the boat over. All our plans would we ruined, and you all know that's how Mister Frodo's folks died. They were drownded."  
  
Primrose looked grateful, but Faramir wasn't buying it.  
  
"Why are you so interested in this little adventure?" he asked, looking at her intently. He abandoned his rocking of "Undomiel". Ruby grew serious, and her expression was quizzical.  
  
"What do you mean?" Daisy asked, surprised, "I'm in it for - well, for the Shire, of course, what else? And it isn't little at all!" She corrected him, her face flushing.  
  
"I do mean," Faramir continued tentatively, "what's in it for you?"  
  
  
  
Daisy's outrage at the questioning of her motives, even more so that she wasn't exactly sure of them herself was so great that she just sat there and stared for quite a while. She might truly have tackled Faramir right then and there, on water or not, if it weren't for what happened next.  
  
A tiny sound registered in Ruby's mind. She pricked up her big ears, and stared out over the water, hoping for the smallest gleam that would betray the cause and source of whatever made that strange sound.  
  
"Quiet!" She hissed, in a tone more of authority mingled with a tinge of fear than curiosity. Primrose gave her an odd look. Usually it was she doing the bossing, not Ruby. Again Ruby whispered, "Quiet!"  
  
For the slightest moment, Daisy forgot her rage in wonder at the change come over Ruby. Ruby sat, clutching her paddle, not moving at all, except for her twitching ears. She leaned forward, hoping yet dreading to see whatever it was that she believed had come to rest, lurking just by "Undomiel". Unfortunately, so did Faramir, Primrose, and Daisy.  
  
Suddenly, to Ruby's utmost shock, the boat tipped forward, hung in that precarious position for the slightest fraction of a second, then "Undomiel" was relieved of her passengers, who were flung into the frigid waters of the Brandywine River, where an Orc awaited them.  
  
For a few terrifying moments, Ruby sank ever deeper into the waters, waiting to reach the brown riverbed which would never come. Opening her eyes, she beheld a creature that she had heard of only in legends and faery tales, and never before seen in her life. It was, as you no doubt have guessed, the hideous Orc. Seeing the beast, she did exactly what you would have done, were you a twenty-four-year-old hobbit on an adventure against your father's will, and had just been flung from a boat into freezing water, then been confronted with a horrible creature. She screamed and swam for her very life, of course.  
  
Ruby re-surfaced with a gasp, drawing air deep into her lungs, and choking up water as she released the air. She shook the water from her eyes and glanced around, waiting, waiting, waiting for her sisters and Faramir. She kept swimming, almost automatically, until she reached the shore. Clambering up the bank, she took a deep breath.  
  
"Daisy! Primrose! Faramir! Where are y- Aah!"  
  
"Keep quiet, you ninnyhammer!" Faramir whispered into her ears, having snuck up behind Ruby and clapped both hands over her mouth. Ruby wheeled around to see that Daisy and Primrose looked wet, cold, miserable, but otherwise had escaped from the Brandywine's icy grasp unscathed.  
  
"Did you- did you see the- the."  
  
"Orc? Yes, we saw it." Daisy said, shivering. Faramir said nothing, but blanched, and Primrose wailed outright.  
  
"Oh, me! Oh, why, why? Why me? Why did I ever agree to come on this ridiculous chase?" Primrose wailed, wringing her hands.  
  
"Shush!" Daisy cried, shaking her younger sister, "Keep quiet! This chase is anything but ridiculous! It's even more serious now, now that Orcs are in the Shire itself!"  
  
"Daisy's right," Faramir nodded, his quarrel with Daisy - for now - forgotten. "Its one thing to hear about Orcs being in some town called Bree, while you're safe and dry, quite another to see them, at night when you're alone." He swallowed. "Now, its most important that we go back."  
  
"Back?" Ruby gasped, "But why, Faramir?"  
  
"Because, if they're here than someone has to know. We can't just leave them here, not knowing."  
  
"That's what Dad and Mister Frodo did." Daisy reminded him.  
  
".And look how that turned out!" he snapped. "The thing to do is go right to your Father, or mine."  
  
"What we're all forgetting is." Ruby said quietly. Daisy and Faramir ignored her. Primrose started to cry again.  
  
"What's the matter now, Primrose?" Faramir asked exasperatedly.  
  
"What we're all forgetting is." Ruby tried again, a little louder this time. Primrose sniffed.  
  
"I t-t-t-told you!" She gasped between fat, hot, salty tears, "I told you this would be no good! It's all your fault!" She cried, pointing at Ruby, "Don't blame me! It's her what got us into this mess!"  
  
  
  
Ruby, finally found the attentions of her companions directed at her, took full opportunity of it, yelling, "Listen to me!"  
  
Surprised by this surely unprovoked outburst, Faramir, Primrose, and Daisy fell silent. Ruby sighed.  
  
"There's something you've all forgotten." She began, "And it's none other than Mister Merry." She turned to Daisy. "We wouldn't have to go back, and he wouldn't make us go home, and," she pointed out to Faramir, "we'd be warning somebody important, right?"  
  
Partly out of guilt at ignoring the youngest of their company, but I believe mostly out of realization of the common sense of the idea, the others all agreed, with a rising of the hand or a muttered Aye. The elders hemmed and hawed, and stared at their toes, but Ruby knew they were sorry. Or at least, she hoped they were.  
  
Walking down to the bank to see what they could salvage, Daisy spotted not only "Undomiel's" bobbing hull, and their packs, which had somehow escaped, but also the shape of the Orc swimming like a frog to the other side of the river.  
  
"Let's not wait." She whispered, pointing out the Orc, "Let's go to Mister Merry now."  
  
On seeing the Orc and hastily beaching "Undomiel" and grabbing the packs, the idea was met with much agreement, and soon four frightened, wet hobbits could be seen striding down the road, with Brandy Hall dead ahead. The Orc could also be seen, running across the fields of the Marish, headed for Hobbiton, as the golden sun began to rise over all, ending a rather eventful night, and bringing the promise of a day just as eventful 


	6. Mister Merry, Estella, and Another Dropp...

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Timidly four young hobbits, walking single-file, approached the door to Brandy Hall. The lights at most of the many windows were extinguished, but on the ground floor a warm glow came from a kitchen fire, which had been left to burn through the night. Gathering up all her courage, Ruby quickly stepped forward and knocked on the great wooden door. The sound of the heavy knocker hitting the massive door echoed both through Brandy Hall and through Ruby's mind, already racing with apprehension. Her heart began to beat all the faster to think that someone would come, or even worse that no one would come.  
  
Ruby was not left waiting - and thinking - long. Quite soon (although it seemed an age and a half to four wet, frightened, yet determined hobbits) the door opened with a creak to reveal a friendly and familiar face. The female hobbit's eyes were brown and sparkling, framed by her curly auburn hair and surrounded by the creases borne of a lifetime of both laughter and tears. The four young hobbits - unaware that they had been holding their breath - released it.  
  
"Well, well," Estella said in her warm voice, smiling, "What would four young Shire-hobbits be doing out, all alone, on such a chilly night as this?"  
  
  
  
"Good mornin' Mistress Estella ma'am," Faramir replied, for indeed the pale light of day not quite born now sparkled on the surface of the Brandywine, where so much had happened before. "We would like to speak with Mister Merry - erm, I mean, the Master of Buckland, please." The Gamgee girls nodded, and Estella opened the doors wider, inviting them into the cheerful hall.  
  
"What do you four want to speak with Merry about?" Estella asked, pleased to pretend she did not know the children as well as she did.  
  
"Well, um, uh, Father wanted to give a message to him." Daisy began, not expecting to be asked this.  
  
"Yes, yes!" Primrose agreed vehemently, nodding so hard that her golden curls bobbed up and down as she spoke. "A message, from Father, and it says. says that. that there is new things goin' on in Hobbiton." Primrose trailed off, for once at a loss for what to say.  
  
".And it's for the Master of Buckland's ears only!" Ruby improvised, trying to look and sound very serious and grim, thus adding the most helpful bit of information of the lot. Estella disguised her chuckles with her handkerchief. As if she didn't know what those young rogues were up to an adventure of some sorts. Regardless, using her common (or rather, uncommon) sense, Estella agreed to bring the young hobbits before the Master of Buckland immediately.  
  
They found themselves being led through the extensive and often confusing tunnels of Brandy Hall by Estella, who knew every inch of the way as an artist would know by heart every loving brushstroke and every careful tint that went into making a masterpiece. After quite a while of following Estella down sloping smials and around crooked corners, she brought them to an ordinary-looking door, upon which she rapped smartly. Estella's knocking was answered by a voice that all five hobbits waiting in the hallway knew perfectly well.  
  
"What's the time?" the Master of Buckland yawned, opening the door. He stepped into the hall, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looking, with a rather surprised and dazed expression on his face, at his wife and young friends. "Isn't it much too early to be up, Estella dear?" Estella laughed.  
  
"It is if you're Merry," she replied, "but not for the Master of Buckland." She indicated the waiting youngsters, "These brave and noble messengers"- Faramir, Ruby, Daisy, and Primrose puffed up with pride -"have been sent by the Mayor of Michel Delving from Hobbiton all the way to Brandy Hall to deliver a message to you, darling." Merry smiled sleepily.  
  
"Well, honey," he said (to Estella, of course), "I'd better get dressed first if I want to receive any messengers." He indicated - rather sheepishly - the striped pajamas he was wearing. "I can't very well hold a council - as I may very well have to - in my jammies, now can I?" Estella laughed.  
  
"Of course not, sweetie, but do hurry. I'm sure your visitors have very important information." She turned to the 'visitors', "I'm sure you're all hungry. What do you say to breakfast while you wait?" The young hobbits nodded, seeing as how they had had nothing to eat since the previous night. "Then wait here," she added. Merry retreated into his room and Estella began to walk off in the direction of the kitchen. Daisy shook her head.  
  
"What's the matter?" Faramir asked Daisy, seeing her shake her head, deep in thought.  
  
"It's just- just, well, if you have to put up with all that darling and dear and honey and sugar nonsense when you get married, then I'm not getting married at all!"  
  
"Amen to that," Faramir muttered. He and Daisy hooked eyes and burst into laughter. But they were not the only ones..  
  
"What are you on about? What's so funny?" an irritated Primrose asked Ruby, who was doubled over with laughter.  
  
  
  
"M-m-mister M-m-m-merry c-ca-calls h-his p-pa-pajamas j-jammies!" Ruby replied, wiping a tear out of her eye. And as all people (or at least, all hobbits) know, this sort of laughter is extremely contagious, and sometimes even a worse sickness - that is, being uppity, stuck up, and nosy - cannot stop it. In Primrose's case, she couldn't hold out very long before she cracked a smile. By the time Estella returned and Merry was dressed, they were surprised to see four hobbits sitting on the floor, utterly exhausted from having laughed themselves silly.  
  
"My, they are more tired than I thought at first," Merry whispered, in a sideways manner, to Estella, "Mayhap they should sleep first, before the news?"  
  
"I don't think so, dear," Estella returned rather seriously, "something tells me their news is more important than we think." Merry smiled.  
  
  
  
"You always did know best." He replied, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek. This movement which did not go unnoted by the four younger hobbits, who began to giggle anew. Nothing beats a young hobbit for laughing, you know, especially if their joke is considered especially funny.  
  
Ten minutes later, six hobbits were sitting down to a mammoth banquet- breakfast, a meal fit for Good King Strider, as Merry was wont to say of his wife's cooking, which was, even by hobbit-standards, exceptionally wondrous. Gleefully the hobbits set to with a vengeance. Merry did credit to his title as Master of Buckland by consuming just as much as two Faramirs, although the younger hobbits did their best to out-eat him. When every last eatable scrap had been devoured, which didn't take long, Merry sat back, folded his napkin, and pronounced himself ready to hear the news. Soon he was listening with fascination and intrigue, as the Gamgee girls and Faramir told the entire story of everything they had heard and done in the past day - had it been but a day?  
  
"Well," Merry said when his young friends were finished, "what do you propose we do?"  
  
  
  
"Well," Faramir gulped, "shouldn't we send some archers after that Orc?"  
  
"Good," Merry agreed, "What else?"  
  
"We should do what we set out to do," Ruby said fiercely, "go to Moria, find the cause of all this, and nip it in the bud." This suggestion was met with cheers from the young hobbits. Merry looked thoughtful.  
  
"Who do you think should go?" he asked them. The young hobbits fell silent, each wishing to conceal that they thought that they should be the ones to go. Merry smiled, knowing their thoughts better than they themselves knew them. He continued. "What you need is, first of all, a small group who are willing, no more than four or five volunteers. Among them should be an archer, a cook, a mapmaker, a tracker and one who knows how to handle a boat. They should all be quick-witted, strong, sensible, loyal to each other and the Shire, and have a taste for this sort of thing - for an adventure." Merry surveyed the four downcast hobbits, who were each assured that they were not bold or brave or good enough to go. "Who do you know who fits such a description?" Estella spoke up.  
  
"I know several young hobbits," she replied. "Firstly, there's one who is loyal, strong, and can handle a boat better than any I've ever seen. Secondly, there's a one who is clever, yet cautious, a good tracker, and steadfast as her father." Estella smiled, remembering some long ago tale in which the people she most loved had played a part. The four young hobbits were still completely in the dark. "Third, there's an archer, who can hit his mark from three leagues away and never miss, someone who's hungry for something to do, some way in which she could help the Shire. Fourth, a cook, who is full of uncommon good sense, and will never shy away from duty. And fifth, a mapmaker, a quiet little hobbit who will stand up for his mates and never let his land down if he can help it." Estella turned from the moping tweens - and one thirty-two-year-old - to Merry. "Do you know who I'm talking about, darling?"  
  
"Let's see," Merry began, "the first is a pleasant fellow by name of Faramir Took, who captains the "Undomiel"" Faramir started, staring at Merry with disbelief. "The second is without a doubt, a certain Daisy Gamgee." Daisy gaped. "The third and fourth are, respectively, Ruby Gamgee and Primrose Gamgee." Now, all four hobbits were filled with shock. Ruby was actually crying; her joy was so great. "The fifth is none other than my own son, Theoden Brandybuck."  
  
"Then it's settled!" Estella cried, much to the joy of her audience, "those five will, if willing, go, and may all the luck in the world go with them." She paused, thinking. "Well, not all the luck." She added. "We'll need some here."  
  
"Shouldn't we find Theoden, then?" Primrose asked, glad that her old friend was coming along. Well, she thought, if she had to go, at least she'd have another sane hobbit with her.  
  
"No need!" Merry cried, opening a cupboard to reveal a brown-haired, green-eyed, red-faced Theoden, who was undoubtedly eavesdropping. Theoden popped out of the cupboard, and looked up at his father.  
  
"Did you really know I was there the whole time, Da?" he asked, smiling. Merry nodded.  
  
"Well, since you obviously heard your - ahem - recommendation, would you like to join Misses Daisy, Primrose, and Ruby Gamgee and Master Faramir Took on a journey to save the Shire?"  
  
"Would I ever!" Theoden grabbed a huge book of parchment paper and a box containing ink and pen with his ink-stained hands. "I could get enough information for a dozen maps!"  
  
Most hobbit-folk smiled benevolently to hear of Theoden's fascination with maps of all kinds. He looked at maps others before him had made, and wondered what was beyond them. He had therefore devoted long hours and days running around the countryside making new maps. This had led him to be chosen, for he would want to go and knew the country from the Shire to Bree and back as well as Estella knew Brandy Hall.  
  
The assembled hobbits - now seven, all told - sat at the table and raised their glasses to their adventure, to the Shire, and to the future ahead of them. For who knows or can even presume to know everything that was, everything that is, and everything that will be? 


	7. A Big Plan, and a Bigger Surprise

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Several hours later, five young hobbits stood assembled in a straight line, with heavy packages on each of their backs. Two older hobbits - a male and a female - stood before them, lovingly inspecting every last detail.  
  
  
  
The older male began to pace in front of the five, who were anxiously awaiting his words. If you haven't guessed, the two older hobbits were Estella and Merry, and the five were our very own Faramir, Daisy, Primrose, Ruby, and Theoden.  
  
  
  
"Now," Merry began, "let's go over our plan." A well-rehearsed speech began to tumble from the mouths of the younger hobbits, who were eager to begin with their own part of the plan.  
  
"First, you'll send news to our Dads - er, I mean, the Thain and the Mayor - that there are Orcs abroad in the Shire." Faramir stated.  
  
"Then, you'll mobilize the Shire and set up watchers and get rid of the Orcs." Daisy told him.  
  
"And all the while we'll be gone, and you'll say that we went to Bree to get some maps for Theo." Primrose followed.  
  
"But, we'll be heading for Moria like Gandalf said, to find out what the cause of all this trouble is." Ruby blurted, a bit quickly.  
  
"And when we've found out, we'll come straight back and tell you what it's all about, and you and the Thain and the Mayor will figure out what to do." Theoden finished. Merry smiled.  
  
"Well, it seems we all know what we're doing." He turned to his wife. "Dear," he asked her, "what did you put in their packs?"  
  
"Well, I gave them each quite a bit o' bread," Estella began, "and some bacon to cook, some fruit - mostly last autumn's apples - three water-skins each, a little box of salt, and I do believe Primrose has the pans and utensils. They've each got a blanket, and a little money to spend in Bree - if they ever need it, of course - and they've got a change of clothes, as well as a cloak. Theo's got his mapmaking things, and Ruby has a spare bow and a quiver of arrows - not her own, but she couldn't go back home and get them - and Faramir's got some patching material in case anything ever hits "Undomiel"." Estella took a deep breath, for she had been talking very fast. "And that's about it, Merry. Unless you count their wits, which they've no doubt got about them."  
  
Primrose frowned.  
  
"I just know we're forgetting something!" she exclaimed, turning to her friends and relations, "I can't explain it, but I know we've left something out!" The rest began to think.  
  
"Well, what did our fathers bring when they went on their journey?" Faramir offered. The rest pondered his suggestion.  
  
"Dad always said that they forgot lots," Daisy began, "but they got great gifts from Galadriel." Daisy fell silent, as her knowledge failed there. The name of Galadriel filled her with awe, also contributing to her silence.  
  
"Rope!" Ruby cried, "That's what Dad said he forgot! Rope!" Merry laughed.  
  
"Right you are, Miss Ruby." He said. "I know I have some somewhere." Merry retreated into his warren-like home, mumbling to himself, "Now where did I put it?"  
  
Estella chuckled.  
  
"He's forgotten," she whispered to the youngsters in a sideways manner, "but he always keeps it in the closet at the front, for the very reason that he won't forget it." After sharing a giggle with them, Estella reached into the front hall closet and withdrew some strong brown rope, just as Merry re-entered the hall.  
  
"I couldn't find it- " he began to his wife. Then- "Well, well, what's this?"  
  
"You left the rope in the front hall closet, dear." Estella reminded him. Merry smiled.  
  
"What would I do without you, m'dear?"  
  
"Shrivel up and die, I expect." His son muttered, to the glee of his young friends. Merry ignored the laughter, but turned to face them, blushing a bit.  
  
"Now, my friends," he began, "I must send you off, to seek the unknown, whatever danger might befall." He dropped his formal manner as Master of the Hall for a moment, "So try not to get hurt, all right?"  
  
"Yessir!" the young hobbits chorused. Merry kissed their foreheads and sent them off. When all the young ones were outside, Estella turned to her husband.  
  
"Merry," she began, somewhat distressed, "do you think they'll make it? Is it safe to send them out there all alone?"  
  
"Of course they'll make it. I'm just as worried as you are, m'dear, but I wouldn't send them out there if I didn't think they could do it. And no, it's not safe. But they aren't alone." Merry put a reassuring arm around Estella. "They have each other."  
  
Outside, the young hobbits started off over the fields, heading towards the rising sun. For now, they were happy. All trouble was now only a rumour and a whisper in their minds, and they were free. They strode over fields, turned golden with the first fire of day, and talked among themselves.  
  
"So here we are," Faramir exclaimed, "here we are on our journey, at last."  
  
"Ready to go wherever duty and need calls us." Daisy chimed in, her quarrel with Faramir resolved for the moment.  
  
"To boldly venture forth into the great unknown - to us, that is." Ruby put in.  
  
"And to save our Shire, or die trying." Theoden finished. Although death was very much a threat, none of the young ones could seriously believe that such would happen to them. Lively was their step, and light their hearts as they crossed their homeland.  
  
Behind them followed a shape and a shadow; winds whispered behind them and brought a multitude of sounds with it: the tlot-tlot of a pony's hooves clattering as a messenger rode toward Hobbiton and Tookborough; the beginnings of morning bustle in the Shire behind them; and the heavy footsteps of creatures unbeknownst to the hobbits. It was not long before the five young hobbits noticed that they were being followed.  
  
"What was that?" Theoden, the youngest, asked.  
  
"I don't know" and "Hush!" resounded from his companions. All five whirled around, and Daisy notched an arrow to her bow.  
  
"Who are you?" she cried, scanning the road and hilltops behind them, "where are you?"  
  
"I am here." A voice came from behind a corner in the road, and the speaker stepped out onto it, extracting gasps from five wide-eyed hobbits. 


	8. The Wizard, the Ranger, and the Sweet Si...

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 8  
  
An old, gray-bearded man wielding a staff and wearing long robes stepped out onto the road, motioning for someone in the woods behind him to follow.  
  
"You didn't think," he began, winking, "That I would send you off on a great, dangerous, exciting journey, to the great distress of your parents, without giving you as much help as I could? I may have suggested you to your father, but even when I sent Bilbo and Frodo on their quests, I offered aid." The man - quite clearly Gandalf - was joined by another: a Ranger, perhaps. He wore green and brown, and his looks were far too ordinary for an Elf. But Ruby, Daisy, and Primrose were much too shocked to notice him.  
  
"Gandalf!" They cried, all at once. They grinned, and then noticed the Ranger.  
  
"Good to see you, and thanks for coming, but - not to be rude or anything - who is he?" Primrose asked pointedly.  
  
"Unfortunately, I will not be coming with you. I am merely sending Huore with you, for him to help you, as I am needed most desperately elsewhere." True to form, Gandalf refused to say any more. Ruby felt curiosity wriggling inside of her, like a long, thin, hungry worm eating up her insides. Instead, Gandalf introduced Huore.  
  
"Huore is a Ranger," he said, reaffirming their thoughts, "and I have brought him here to accompany you. I do not think less of you," he said, cleverly reading the hobbits' minds, "but I would rather send you to Moria with your father knowing that you were looked after." The hobbits nodded, and looked over at Huore. He was of an average height for a Numenorean, and his brown eyes were obscured by tangled brown hair. His expression was grave, and he carried all his equipment on his back.  
  
"I am happy to assist Gandalf, and you." Huore said, bowing to the hobbits. Awkwardly, unsure of themselves, they bowed back. Gandalf chuckled into his beard.  
  
"I must be off," he said abruptly. "Take care of my friends' children, Huore, and yourself as well. Keep your eyes open, for I doubt not that your road will be wrought with danger." Gandalf looked about at the hobbits with a sigh and a smile. "Faramir Took," he said to the curly- headed hobbit, eldest of the five, "I warn you to not get involved in quarrels. For your quest to succeed, you will need everyone working together.  
  
"Daisy Gamgee," Gandalf told the hobbit lass, "you are just like your father." Daisy smiled up at Gandalf at the unexpected compliment. "Be sure to follow his example in his unwavering loyalty, and his indomitable spirit.  
  
"Primrose Gamgee, I know your attention to detail, your commitment to rules. But know that even if you follow rules, there are Orcs and other such creatures who do not." Primrose nodded solemnly.  
  
"Theoden Brandybuck. Always thirsty for learning, for knowledge, for understanding. Let your knowledge serve you, not the other way around." Theoden's grip on the straps of his bag tightened.  
  
"And Ruby Gamgee." Ruby lifted her bright eyes to meet Gandalf's wise ones. "My dear, you are struggling to prove yourself. Remember that there are things more important. but I am not at leave to say any more." Ruby frowned. What was it that Gandalf did not see fit to tell her? The worm of curiosity started up again.  
  
"I wish you all the best on your journeys, wherever they take you. Keep your courage and your wits about you, and I do not doubt that you all have plenty of both." With one last crinkly smile, Gandalf turned and disappeared from sight.  
  
The hobbits were on an edge with this newcomer in their midst; they were not fond of traveling with someone they knew nothing about. For a long time they walked in silence, mulling over what they had heard.  
  
That night they found a suitable dell to rest in before they started on their way again in the morning. Theoden knew the land very well between here and Bree; and he could find a route that would get them there in just over a week, given that all five - six, now - were on foot.  
  
All set about their new duties, cheerfully bustling about in a dizzy blur of activity. Ruby had shot a rabbit, which Primrose was now dressing and preparing to cook. Theoden was consulting his maps, laying out their course, and jotting down notes in his log. Huore and Daisy had become exquisitely entangled in a long, winding conversation about a subject they both felt a great deal about: tracking. Faramir had gone off into the woods for some firewood, and Ruby now sat beside Primrose at the fire.  
  
"What do you think of this Huore?" Ruby asked. It was always interesting to hear Primrose's views on things, seeing as how Ruby almost never agreed with them.  
  
"From what I remember of my Elvish, it means courage or heart-vigour," Primrose replied, "but this Huore has yet to prove it. I won't know anything about him until I've seen him and heard him for a few days."  
  
Ruby grinned. "You never were one to make snap judgments." She thought for a moment. "But then," she added, as her mind stumbled onto something, "then you'll never be in love at first sight." Primrose blushed profusely and Ruby laughed.  
  
"I don't ever intend to be in love, thank you very much." Primrose retorted tartly. She bent her head over her cooking pot, pretending to pay careful attention to the meal, but Ruby knew she was just trying to hide her scorching red face.  
  
"We'll see about that!" Ruby teased. At that point, Faramir came crashing back, declaring his utter starvation for all of Middle-Earth to hear, and any chance for further conversation was lost. Ruby was thinking later that night. Opposites do attract, she mused, snuggling deep down into her blankets and sneaking a glance around at her sisters, friends, and escort. Difference was what made me want to talk to her in the first place, Ruby concluded. I hope Bree has lots more different people and viewpoints to offer. 


	9. The Messenger of Bree

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Bree. Ruby inhaled a cool breath of the musty inn air, gazing around at the seemingly huge room surrounding her. Inhabited by both Men and Hobbits, the village of Bree was a natural stopover on every hobbit's Quest. Usually, it was here that the hobbits would meet their companion - the strange and mysterious Ranger. But Ruby's companion - Huore - had already been traveling with her and her comrades for some time.  
  
He had been most valuable - even saving Theo's life on one occasion. Ruby smiled, remembering how Theo now devoted himself to Huore. One rarely saw Huore without the young hobbit lad at his side. But then, no one ever saw Huore unless he wanted to be seen, thanks to his tracking skills. Even Daisy, regarded as an expert on the subject, had been able to learn a thing or two more than she'd admit from the shy Ranger.  
  
But now, after much weary traveling, they had come to Bree at last. It was immortalized as being key in many Quests and Adventures, Journeys and suchlike. But most of the others had not known what their adventures would be, Ruby thought, a shadow of worry flitting across her mind. They knew where they were going - what they would find there was the question that, unanswered, echoed in the back of her mind.  
  
They had already had their supper, and arranged to have the Hobbit-sized rooms for one night. That was all they needed, Faramir had protested. Anything that had to happen in Bree would happen then. Primrose had not been easily convinced.  
  
Now Ruby lay awake, unable to sleep. The moon shone brilliantly through the small round windows, reflecting upon the cold water in the washbasin. Through the window Ruby gazed, staring off into space. Looking at nothing in particular, until her sharp brown eyes caught a movement outside.  
  
Rising slowly so as not to disturb the others, Ruby crept out of her bed and tiptoed towards the door. It creaked; the noise seemed painfully loud in the silent night. Outside the air was moist and chill. Ruby shivered. But she searched for the spot where she had seen something. There - just behind an overturned wheelbarrow, probably used by the innkeeper for carting vegetables from his backyard garden. Ruby turned the corner, expecting to find nothing, perhaps a small animal or piece of washing torn of the line by the wind. But curiosity must be satisfied.  
  
Without warning, one arrow - small, fletched with red and white feathers - whizzed past Ruby, nearly grazing her cheek. They slammed into the something behind the wheelbarrow with a damp thud. Ruby started; alarmed and shaken, she had only enough self-control to concentrate on not screaming. She whirled about to face the archers-  
  
None other than a very cross-looking Daisy and Faramir.  
  
"Why are you out here? And alone, as well?" Faramir demanded. "We don't know what Daisy shot. But chances are, it's not good."  
  
Daisy just glared at Ruby. Ruby became suddenly very interested in her furry toes.  
  
"Well, let's see what's behind that wheelbarrow." Daisy said at last. They three crept quietly around the wheelbarrow, to find an Orc. It lay on the ground, crouching in the position it had been in when Daisy fired the fatal shot. He was larger than Ruby, even sitting down, and in his hand he held a small, torn piece of parchment. Ruby, ignoring the stench of the now-dead Orc, snatched the parchment from his hand.  
  
"Don't bother," Faramir told her, still annoyed, "Orcs only speak Black Speech. You wouldn't be able to understand it."  
  
But the note was not written in Black Speech.  
  
"My servant, my Forya," Ruby read aloud, "The time grows near. Send more Yrch of the Mines to these places: the posts in Breeland, in the Old Forest of the Shire, in Fornost, by the Tower Hills, the Ered Luin and the Hithgaelir. I will arrive in Khazad-dum shortly, in a matter of asta, if I am not mistaken. You will be rewarded with Nuumea Kemi if you remain faithful to me. Do not forget the coming of the Eruseenforte and the Eruseenhyarmen! Your master, Vorimalka."  
  
A heavy silence descended on the three hobbits.  
  
"It would seem," Faramir said at last, "That it was not written in the Black Speech after all."  
  
"And that this, this, this problem we were sent to investigate, is much bigger than just Orcs." Ruby added.  
  
"We must go tell Huore and the others." Daisy said.  
  
Primrose and Theoden were annoyed at being shaken roughly into wakefulness, but the message startled them into silence. Huore mused in melancholy.  
  
"I only know what part of the message must mean," he said at last, "the other matters I can only guess at. He is asking his servant, this Forya, to send Orcs from Moria to the places he specified. That much is clear. He also said he would come to Moria himself, in a matter of months. Then he promises his servant with Western Land, and tells him to heed the Men of the North and the Men of the South. These things pass out of my knowledge alone. To Rivendell; to Celeborn, for he may know of what this Vorimalka speaks."  
  
"But what of Moria?" Ruby piped up. "We must go there to ambush this Vorimalka, to spy, which is what we were sent to do."  
  
"But we can't possibly defeat Vorimalka unless we know more about him. To learn more, we need to go to Rivendell."  
  
The argument lasted for well over an hour. Ruby was almost ready to give in to sleep, but steeled herself just for another minute, and another..  
  
"We have made our decision." Huore said, but Ruby never heard. She was fast asleep. Huore smiled one of his rare smiles, and drew a blanket over her sleeping form. "Sleep well, Ruby Gamgee, for two long and weary journeys will face you in the morning." 


	10. Council with Celeborn

Ruby's Adventure  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Ruby walked along in silence, pondering her quest. It seemed that they had decided to follow their forebears in this, as in all things. First to Bree, then to Rivendell, then on to Moria. No 'short cut' through the Old Forest, thankfully. And most likely, they would go no further, but simply return home to a warrior's welcome. A sudden thought pierced Ruby's heart and froze her blood. If they returned home at all.  
  
Huore had said that by now, it was only a few more days to Rivendell. Theoden, his trusty mapmaking tools in hand, was practically bouncing with delight. He had inherited his mother's cheerful nature, Ruby noted, and the young hobbit lad made everyone smile. She hoped that this journey would do no lasting damage to that so beloved merry temperament.  
  
Making camp now had the ease and grace of routine. Everything flowed together beautifully; except for that moment when Faramir tripped and dropped the firewood onto Primrose's large furry feet. The other hobbits had watched the two hop about in pain, laughing 'til tears rolled down their cheeks. But other than that, everything was normal. They had been doing this for quite a while, you know.  
  
The five hobbits had almost no worries about their journey. It would be dangerous, but they could brave the fiercest storms any villain with such a silly name as 'Vorimalka' could throw at them. It was quite unrealistic, as they might later remark; but they were young and free- spirited, and the world would not make them solemn before their time. So they believed.  
  
All in all, a jovial and carefree group of hobbits came to Rivendell one day. The Elves were, as always, both pleased to see them and a little sad, too; reminded of people and events long past. They managed to show the note in all seriousness to Celeborn, now Lord of Rivendell. His grave manner subdued the hobbits enough for him to have a Serious Debate with them over what was to be done.  
  
"The lands West of the Misty Mountains are at stake, it seems," Celeborn announced, "that much we have established. This Vorimalka is in charge of this; it seems a certain Forya is his right hand in these dealings. They seem to have set up a stronghold in Moria, and outposts at many places; but most seem to be quite near the Shire. What news of these places do you bring?"  
  
"Well," Faramir began, being the eldest, "There have been sightings of Orcs in the Shire and Bree; if we asked, I'd bet that people in the other places mentioned would say so to."  
  
"It's our opinion," Ruby added, "That this Vorimalka and Forya have it in their heads to take over the Shire and the other places West of the Misty Mountains - and that includes Rivendell, I believe."  
  
"That would explain why he's worried about the Men of the North and South," Daisy agreed, "He thinks they might get in the way, or try to stop him." Celeborn nodded soberly.  
  
"Your suspicions are wise," he told them, "and your hearts are bold. Yet I fear that wisdom and bravery might not be enough to counter this unknown evil that is set against us. I fear great malevolence may befall you, should you undertake this task alone."  
  
"But we aren't alone at all," Theoden argued, "There are five of us, and Huore as well." Theo beamed up at his tall friend.  
  
"This is supposed to be a small group anyway." Ruby persisted, "We're supposed to go to find out things. Small groups are better for that."  
  
"I fear it is too late for just 'finding out things', as you suggest" Celeborn shook his head sadly. "Elves cannot help you. I myself am leaving these shores, and soon; but I have faith in you, that you will succeed." He seemed to have some sort of knowledge of what would already come to pass; he surveyed their young faces sadly, perhaps mourning for the loss of the youth of his people. Or mourning something, someone else.  
  
*****  
  
Only weeks later five hobbits and one ranger left Imladris. Cheerily they set off towards still-hazy mountains; singing and joking amongst themselves. Celeborn and his grandson, Elrohir, stood behind, listening to snatches of conversation and song that occasionally wafted back to them on the evening air.  
  
". Down from the door where it began."  
  
"Don't you dare, Ruby Gamgee! Just you wait 'til Father hears."  
  
". Prim little Primrose, always the voice of reason."  
  
"Or the voice of annoyance."  
  
"I heard that!"  
  
Back on the balcony, Celeborn shook his head.  
  
"It will be too much for them, I fear."  
  
"Will they survive?"  
  
"And if they do?" Celeborn did not meet his grandson's eyes, but still followed the steps of the young hobbits and their guardian. "What then? Will they lead cursed half-lives, always in fear and ever remembering what happened before. They will lose their innocence; that I do not doubt. They might lose their lives; that is a possibility. That they will lose their peace and ease of mind? I hope not with all my heart."  
  
"But will they?"  
  
"They will never be the same hobbits, Elrohir. But I hope they will still be hobbits." 


End file.
